Based in Warsaw, Poland

Austria Goes Backwards

The results are like a shock for me.

Austria's voters have voted for the past - spending billions of Euros with laws passed three days before the elections and as if no financial crisis has happened in the past weeks.

Any liberal and thoughtful politics has been voted out (the liberals, green party or the liberal part of the people's party). Much rather, populists like Faymann, Haider or Strache have won the elections. We will see how that will turn out, but I doubt it this election result was a vote for the liberal, positive, forward-thinking youth ...

worse ...

what is even worse: nearly 50% of the 16-30 year olds have voted for the right wing parties BZÖ and FPÖ. Gosh!

whew ...

... a coalition or minorty government by red (socialists) and blue (freedom party) is not possible! and look at the results of the postal vote - and really the conservatives have the majority of the votes!